Week 2 of my new exercise schedule - so far, so good. I'm also just discovering chia seed, which I'm hoping will help out with my weight loss...


early morning:

• vitamin D2, vitamin B12, shot of Floravit iron
  
• 1 glass of Chia Fresca
  

morning:

• 3/4 cup Bran Buds, 1 cup vanilla almond milk, ground flax
  
• 1 cup of decaf coffee*, 1 cup of caf (or "normal") coffee*

lunch:

• 1 glass of Chia Fresca
  
• 3/4 can of chickpeas, 1 head of baby bok choy, 3 leaves of kale*†, 2 chopped carrots
  

afternoon:

• 1 mint green tea
  

dinner:

• TBD - probably something from Vegetarian Haven!
  

exercise:

• 1/2 hour morning walk/run

*organic
† local

This weekend, I baked 3 batches of chocolate cupcakes and whipped up 2 batches of icing which, of course, involves tasting batter and licking bowls. And eating stray chocolate chips from the counter. Now, back to the healthy eating. Plus, I've decided to wake up every morning at 6:00 a.m. to either run/walk, walk or spend a short weight training session at the gym (which I will run to). Every morning. 6:00. This is my new life.

morning:

• 3/4 cup Bran Buds, 1 cup vanilla almond milk
  
• 1 cup of decaf coffee*, 1 cup of caf (or "normal") coffee*
• 1 mint green tea
  

lunch:

• 1 can of Amy's vegan chili (a big meh)
• half litre of water
  

afternoon:

• 1 apple, 3 high-fibre crispbreads
• mint green tea
• half litre of water

dinner:

• TBD
  

exercise:

• 1/2 morning walk/run
• lunchtime 1/2 hour walk
  

how I feel:

• somewhat energetic despite a late night and early rise
• as of 4:00 p.m., I haven't really hit a slump
  

*organic

I hate stepping on the scale. I decided that I wouldn't do it for a few weeks. But yesterday I wanted to know if I had lost any weight from eating mainly salad-based lunches and was shocked at the 4 lb weight gain, bringing me up to about 152 lbs. Holy crap. It's time to crack down and get this under control or I'll be back up to 169 lbs - like I was about 8 years ago - in no time. I'm even desperately trying to drink at least 3 cups of green tea every day to boost my metabolism (I know this may be a myth), and I'll be running every other-ish day.

Other things I'll try in order to get my weight under control:

• eat less peanut butter
• eat only a couple of nuts at a time
• serve myself less rice when we have it for dinner
• server my meals on/in smaller dishes
• increase my water intake
• use free weights at home or the gym at least every other evening
• this one will be hard: consume less alcohol - specifically, beer.
  

weight loss goal: to be 135 lbs, which is on the high end of my BMI


morning:

• 1.5 cups of savoury millet porridge (millet*, garlic, sundried tomatoes*, broth, brown lentils, potatoes, carrots* - basically, a very thick stew) with 2 T of ground flax
• 1 cup of decaf coffee*, 1 cup of caf (or "normal") coffee*
  

lunch:

• salad of 2 chopped carrots*, 2 leaves of romaine lettuce, 3 radishes, prepared taboulleh, hummus, baba ganouj, chopped tomatoes - all in a largish pryex dish
• 2 corn tortillas
  
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1 banana, green tea
• 2 corn tortillas with a small amount of pb, chopped apple
  

dinner:

• 1/2 pita with hummus
• small handful of cashews (dammit!)
• 1 bowl of red coconut curry with broccoli, peppers, carrots and other stuff on white rice (trying to just use it up)
• green tea, water
  

exercise:

• none
  

how I feel:

• distracted by our plans to move. This will be on-going
  

*organic

The plan was to run this morning, but a later-than-normal night, plus being awoken by a vomitty cat at 3:30 am pretty much shot that out of the water. I may run or use some weights tonight... or just clean the apartment.


morning:

• 3 T of rolled oats*, 2 T ground flax*, 2 T shelled hemp seed*, almond milk
  
• 2 coffees* (1 half decaf)
  

lunch:

• salad of 3 shredded carrots*, 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1 avocado* mixed with some sesame oil + lemon juice
• 1 Lick's nature burger with ketchup, dijon, pickles, onions, hot peppers on a whole wheat bun
  

afternoon:

• TBD
  

dinner:

• TBD
  

exercise:

• TBD
  

how I feel:

• emotional, easy sadness... possibly PMS?
  

*organic

It's the start of a new running season. I don't run in the winter because I'm a wuss, so I wait until the sun starts to rise again at 6:15 a.m. and head out for a fresh morning jog. I was able to maintain my speed this morning for over 10 minutes at one time. Not bad for the the real morning run of the year.

With starting to run, I also need to begin fueling my body better with healthier foods (i.e. lose some weight, goddammit). My morning meal doesn't waiver much - I need the routine! - but lunch and dinner are all over the map. If I focus on eating as much raw food at lunch as possible, I should be able to get out of my tired slump and shed a few pounds in the process. I'd like to leave most dinners open for more complex/interesting meals.


morning:

• 3 T of rolled oats*, 2 T ground flax*, 2 T shelled hemp seed*
  
• 3 coffees* (2 half decaf)
  
• SIGG bottle of water
  

lunch:

• salad of 2 shredded carrots*, 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1 chopped tomato, 1 avocado* mixed with some sesame oil, rice vinegar and sambal oelek
• 1 bottle of orange juice
  

afternoon:

• 3 high fibre Wasa breads
• 1 T pb
  

dinner:

• 1 samosa
  
• stir fried broccoli, red pepper, carrots in garlic and ginger; baked tofu with lime, garlic and soy sauce; rice noodles; peanut sauce
• Kahlua on ice
• mint tea
  

exercise:

• 1/2 hour run/walk
  

how I feel:

• emotional, easy sadness
  

*organic

Yesterday, I joined a gym. Yipes. The reason is because last winter I went to blob. We tried running in the frigid Toronto cold, but it didn't really work out very well. So, a new gym has opened close by and we have joined. There is a 10 day money back cancellation period, so we'll see how these next 10 days go.


morning:

• small amount of berry Vega with salba and black cherry juice - just a little though because the salba thickened too much and it felt like I was drinking runny batter. Blech.
  
• 1 coffee
  
• a little water
  

late morning:

• small leftover salad of carrots*, beets, hummus, tomato, dino kale*
  

afternoon:

• salad of red cabbage* and tahini* dressing
• 1 whole wheat pita
  

snack:

• tbd
  

dinner:

• tbd
  

exercise:

• tbd
  

how I feel:

• a little crampy
• tired
  

*organic
† local

morning:

• müsli of rye† and barley† flakes with salba, moistened with water
  
• 1 coffee at work
• a little water
  

afternoon:

• a kid's meal: 1 kiddie nature burger and extra small fries
  
• a thick green smoothie
• peach†
• pear†
  
• dinosaur kale†*
  
• hemp protein powder*
  
• hemp seeds*
  
• small handful soaked almonds
  
• water
  
• medjool dates
  
• frozen strawberries

snack:

• layered salad:
  
• 1 cup shredded carrot†
  
• 2 leaves of dinosuar kale*†
  
• sprinkle of hemp seeds*
  
• cooked quinoa/red lentils
  
• topped with balsamic vinegar†

dinner:

• tbd
  

exercise:

• nothing as of this afternoon
  

how I feel:

• a little bloaty (from previous night's beer and lunch of burger and fries)
  
• easily distracted
• medium energy
  

*organic
† local